Current techniques for three-dimensional (3D) printing include photopolymerization, granular-materials binding, and fused deposition modeling. In the case of fused deposition modeling, layers of material, such as sugar, plastic, or metal, are extruded, often in the form of small beads that make up strings, also called “filaments.” Through extruding layer after layer of these filaments a 3D object is created. These 3D objects can include highly complex designs. In fact, almost anything that a computer can model, a fused-deposition printer can create, from candy art, to a plastic chair, to a metal sculpture.
Current fused-deposition printing techniques, however, often fail to produce desired surface characteristics, such as those having particular colors or image resolutions. This is due in part to many printers being unable to apply short segments of filaments. While many fused-deposition printers have enough filament heads with different-colored filaments to theoretically produce desired surface colors and images, these printers cannot apply different-colored filaments in small enough amounts. Instead, these printers produce surfaces with significant geometric artifacts due to an inability to quickly start and stop the flow of melted filament from their filament heads. Furthermore, even if a fused-deposition printer could quickly start and stop the flow of melted filament, switching back and forth between print heads would cause the total printing time to dramatically increase.
The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent the work is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.